We're All the Same
by BunnyRamen
Summary: Previously "Freaks United"
1. The beginning

**Hey! Chap two is up! Sorry for the wait and lack of effort in this chapter, I had a VERY short time to write this. A long series of misfortune I'm too tired to discuss.**

**So without further ado, here you go!**

"Great. I have two she-villains chasing me..."

I was running down the street like a madman, screaming my head off and other acts of drama when I noticed, there wasn't ANYBODY there. I mean, really, usually this place is full of thugs this late at night. As I continued running and screaming, the asphalt beneath me cracked. _Earthquake_?! Vines came out from the cracks it made and wrapped around me. And as if that wasn't enough, they surrounded me with walls of… amethyst? Some kind of gem. Anyways, the wall was like ten feet high, and as I struggled with the plants, the villains slowly approached me. The taller girl who had trapped me with her vines was wearing a simple outfit; a green tank top with black jeans and an awesome black leather jacket with boots made of black and green and the other girl, the violent one, was wearing a more elaborate black and red outfit. As she started to interrogate me, I decided it was high time I got out of here...

* * *

FINALLY we caught that little boy….girl…. whatever. I still think we took too long, but Little miss Ivy here thought it would be better to trap the little thief instead of mortally wound her. Well it's probably for the best.

As we *slowly* strutted to where he/she was, the thief was still struggling against the vines like dear life depended on it. We wouldn't actually kill him/her, though I would've liked to torture the little brat…if only a little heehee. As Little Ivy started her interrogation, I started to wonder how she even got to the files, much less steal them. She was a little slippery to catch, but she didn't really put up much of a fight…I would have destroyed her if she did. Security should have been able to take care of her…I was brought back to reality when I heard (Little) Ivy's shouting. I looked back up to see the runt had somehow managed to escape her vines.

"Finally, maybe I'll actually get a challenge…"

I shot out shards of diamond at her, hoping only to maim her. As they flew toward her head, I cringed, thinking that maybe shooting diamond wasn't the smartest thing to do. Maybe I should have just lugged quartz rock at her head or something. As I waited for the carnage, my jaw dropped.

* * *

We had finally caught that boy, who had short brown hair and was wearing black, loose clothing (It's our job to observe the enemy…). So I started my interrogation. Usually Ruby does this sort of thing, but Threat Critical had blown a fuse (literally) when he had found out that Ruby had been doing most of the work. But she loooves fighting and all things related, and besides, it's not my fault there are so many distractions...

"Aw man". I had spaced out and the boy had somehow escaped my vines…He didn't hurt them, or I would have felt it. As I chased him, I saw Ruby spacing out. Wow, go figure. I shouted at her, trying to get her attention and when I looked back, he was gone. Maybe he was some kind of ninja and jumped over the wall all ninja- like…dang it! I yelled some more for no reason as Ruby took the wall down. I think she spotted him 'cuz she shot some pointy-looking shards at him, or rather his head…wait his _head_? The kid was trapped into an alley…there was no escape for him, I looked on, knowing we couldn't take him in for questioning if his head was all explody. We were in BIG trouble. As I waited for the inevitable, I started to imagine all the things Mr. Critical would probably do to me, seeing as Ruby was Acacia's "prodigy" she would probably get off easy. I mournfully looked on but, either Ruby's perfect accuracy had failed her or I was going crazy, 'cuz those shards went right through him. I quickly glanced at Ruby, whose jaw had dropped in shock. The boy then turned around at us and gave us a cocky grin. Ruby then proceeded to launch an overkill diamond spear the size of Mississippi at his head, I screamed at her,

"WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM YOU IDIOT!" She then gave a sheepish grin as I turned to see him phase right through the wall. The diamond spear pierced through solid brick. We both looked at each other then started to run around the block. He wasn't there. We searched for hours to no avail.

"Lily?" Ruby panted, breathless.

"Yah?" I replied, also breathless.

"We're screwed" She breathed as she slumped down onto the wall.

"Crap" I mumbled as I joined her in despair.

_**Hope you like the edited version! :D**_


	2. Micky D's

**Hey everyone! Yup, I'm adding another chapter to this thing...yay! Apologies for the last chapter, I had it on my computer, left, forgot about it. Ehehe…I asked my sister to put it up, but someone complained about the format so I changed it to paragraphs. I hope that's better! Oh and I'm gonna try and do this without the POV thing, kay? Anywho, on with the show!**

Today was….unusual. Since when did I become a babysitter? Well it is what it is. But the little 'adventure' we had was not an everyday experience, I'll have to admit.**  
**

"Hey Ryan? I don't like cheese on my burger. Will you buy me another one?"I looked down at the boy (I'm pretty sure he's a boy…) who got me into this mess. He doesn't look older than thirteen. He wears all black, trying to look more mature I suppose. He had long dark brown hair. Well, long compared to mine, seeing as I shave my head. It almost covers his ears I guess. But he does have one remarkable attribute. Well it's his eyes, they're two different colors, one emerald green and the other sky blue. I shook my head and grunted.

"No." The boy, Harley, gave me a pouty look and started to complain. I felt horrible. I don't know how to handle kids. Maybe I should tell you how we ended wandering the streets together. Let me recap, it started two days ago. I had just made it into the city, Paradox. Weird name for a city but who am I to judge? I'm practically made of metal and even have implants, all this complete with six tentacles. Anyways, I had decided a long time ago to help people in need whenever I can. And this place, I hear, is one of the worst. Not like Gotham or anything, but still, people usually tend to avoid this place. It was well past midnight I would say, when I heard dramatic screams coming from…somewhere. I couldn't tell, this city is huge…and I was lost. But I could tell it was close by, so I started running toward the sound. I started to hear other loud noises, it sounded like two earthquakes, the first one was smaller, the second one was a lot louder. I ran up to what seemed like an old abandoned apartment.

I wasn't sure what to do, the place seemed abandoned, but you never know, some squatters might be hiding out in there. So blowing right through it was out. It would've been simple, because I have the ability to manipulate lightning. I could have blasted a hole in there. But judging from the sounds the victim was right behind the building. I would risk hurting whoever I was trying to save. Damn. All these thoughts took place in a matter of seconds, but while I was still in my train of thought a kid came running. At first I thought I was crazy, because that kid, Harley, as I mentioned before, phased right through the wall. He was running at top speed, and probably didn't see me. I say 'probably' because he didn't stop until he crashed into me. I didn't move at all, but he fell on the ground and looked as if he had run into a vending machine, which is probably a good description. He looked up at me with a panicked expression on his face.

"Please, guy, you have to help me!" I heard angry footsteps rounding the corner and as I decided to help him, he quickly got up, grabbed my hand, and ran like hell. I followed along. But I figured I could run faster if I just threw him over my shoulder and carried him. I proceeded to do this and more than tripled our previous speed. I must have been distracted because he was practically yelling in my ear.

"Where the heck are you going?!" I realized he was right and I was utterly lost. I immediately stopped which made Harley give a little 'umphff' sound. I looked around, trying to get my bearings, when Harley was scream-whispering for me for me to go left. Having no other choice I did so and turned down a dimly lit street. It was then I noticed he was tightly clutching some sort of package. Papers or something. They looked important. I saw that one in particular was labeled with official looking stamps. TOP SECRET. FOR ACACIA's EYES ONLY. Things like that. I saw a name in particular that caught my eye, ABR- I was brought back to reality when Harley, who was again scream-whispering, told me to head for that alley. I quickly turned and retreated into the shadows. I set him down and we flattened ourselves against the wall.

I heard more noises that sounded like mini earthquakes. I quickly glanced down at the package he was now trying to hide.

"Did you steal it?" He winced at my inquiry.

"I'll take that as a yes." I was just starting to think I had saved the wrong person when he tried to explain.

"It contains information that is crucial to the operation of this city's mob…I think" I looked at his face. It was sincere. I was always a good judge of character. But what was he thinking? Sure his ability makes him a good thief, but messing with this city's _underground_? That was a sure way to end up dead in a dumpster.

"Where are your parents? I'm taking you home." I blankly stated. Harley started to shift uncomfortably.

"I don't have parents. At least I don't think so…you see, I really can't remember anything before my eighth birthday..." Great I'm stuck with some sort vigilante with no past. Guess he figured he had nothing to lose. In the middle of my frustrations, I noticed two female voices and more ground shaking approaching us. As they got closer, I decided to finally put an end to this. I electrically charged my left hand and aimed it toward the ground right in front of the taller one. I was just about to fire my scarlet lightning when the kid grabbed my shoulder. I craned my neck to look at him, he had a dead serious expression and he shook his head no. I glanced back at the two girls and studied them more closely. They were both pretty I guess, but that wasn't the main issue here. I then saw why I had been hearing 'earthquakes'. The taller one was using what looked like plants to raise herself up off the ground. The other girl, with even stranger eyes than the kid I had unwittingly saved, was arming herself with what looked like gemshards. I recognized diamond, emerald, ruby, and many other kinds of precious jewels. As I studied the gem girl more closely, it seemed that the boy had been right in stopping me. This girl looked….battle-tested, or something like that. She would be difficult to overcome, even alone. I wouldn't be able to take them both at the same time. I slowly backed up into a corner, taking Harley along with me. I activated my camouflage system and we stayed there for a good ten minutes. I was sure the gem girl knew someone was there, because when the leaf girl wanted to leave, she insisted they stay a little longer. Everything would have been fine if my vigilante hadn't freaked out.

A bug, a spider I think it was, had lowered itself slowly to where we were. I watched it and the kid's reaction to it. A look of pure terror was spread across his face. I told him with my eyes not to move, and I think he understood, but that didn't stop him from being a wuss. The second that thing came in contact with his forehead, he started to scream. I quickly muffled his girlish cry with my hand while silently cursing whoever came to mind. With my camouflage still on, I quickly extended my tentacles and scaled the building. I moved my head to look down and saw the glimmering eyes of the gem girl. She had definitely heard us. She was instantly at the spot we just were, but she seemed to have given up, because she retreated to her friend and they left. Harley in hand, I scaled buildings until I saw a fast food restaurant. I made my way over there and asked him if he was hungry. Apparently, he was starving to death and asked for a cheeseburger. I ordered it for him and nothing for myself. As we walked out into the parking lot, he was incessantly babbling about how 'cool' I was and unwrapped his burger. He took a bite and immediately his face dropped. I gave him a side glance and by the looks of it, he was disappointed. He wrapped it back up and looked up at me to ask,

"Hey, what's your name?" I continued walking as I replied.

"Ryan Dredd" He quickly matched my stride and smiled.

"My name is Harley" I smiled back at Harley

"Nice to meet you." We walked in silence for a few moments, he then spoke up again.

"Hey Ryan? I don't like cheese on my burger, will you buy me another one?" I shook my head and grunted.

"No."

"Aw c'mon! I don't _like _cheese on my burger!" He whined.

"Well maybe you should think about that the next time you order a CHEESEburger. Besides we are already three blocks away." That seemed to shut him up. We trudged along in silence for a few moments until he again opened his mouth.

"Please?" He was giving me a weird puppy-eyed expression. I gave an exasperated sigh as I reached for my back pocket. I turned around with him squealing in delight as we headed back to Mcdonalds.


	3. Abducted

**Welcome to the wonderful world of my imagination! Actually, this entire story is based on a dream I had. Of course I have added a lot of stuff, but I still kept the basic idea intact. It's all veeeerrryy interesting. Well I had to leave a couple things out…*sigh*. Well, here's the next chapter!**

"_Urrrgh…_"

I couldn't open my eyes, and my head felt lighter than air. I felt closed in, suffocated. I could hear voices, but they were strange, like someone talking from behind a window. Heh, that reminds me of the time I was 'training' in 'stealth' and spied on that hot girl next door…good times. Not that the only way I can get a girl is by spying on her to find out all about her and amaze her later. I've had my share of girlfriends, even ones I didn't spy on before asking them out…okay that was weak.

But that's irrelevant information anyway, so back to business. I didn't even know where I was. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. Well tried to shake my head, and that did seem to do some good; my eyelids seemed less like they were made of lead and more like they were made of skin. I slowly opened my eyes. Everything seemed blurry. I blinked several times to clear my vision. When I could finally see again I saw that I was in some sort of capsule, made of something that looked like glass, but way stronger. After recognizing I was in a tight closed space, I had a little panic attack…closed spaces make me freak out. I realized that I was being held in suspended animation. Usually these things can keep you unconscious for months, even years. But for those like me, who are 100% claustrophobic, they can't keep you for long. I looked around, trying to slow my breathing, and saw that I wasn't there only one there. There were about seventeen other capsules I think. Before I could really study any of them, more voices brought my attention to the center of the room. There were three people, one male, two female. It looked to me like a parent teacher conference. The guy, who looked like the "teacher" was wearing some kinda battle-suit I think…it was like light blue and he had a pink visor. The first woman, the "parent", was very tall, about six feet I would say, and had long, light brown hair that was pulled into a professional looking bun. She was wearing something that looked like a one-piece bathing suit, I dunno what it's called alright? Sue me. It looked like it had some robotic upgrades though, and it had a purple insignia I couldn't recognize. She wore thigh high boots with purple straps, and a purple leather jacket.

Then there was the "student". The first thing that struck me was her eyes, they were beautiful. They looked like a thousand different jewels, all swirling; like a kaleidoscope. Hues of blue, green, red, purple…the color spectrum was endless. Shards of endless riches….I wondered if they were actual gems. I then looked down at myself. I couldn't believe it; I looked as if I had been in WWII. My blue cloak was shredded to pieces, my shirt no longer had sleeves, and I was missing a boot. I had my share of wounds as well, but they seemed to be healing. I looked to see if I had any weapons on me, but I was out of luck, and had been stripped clean. I still had my mask though, for whatever reason, so at least I was still Striker, awesome name for a superhero,huh? So my secret identity had not been compromised. I looked again at the parent teacher conference; the teacher seemed to be talking the student. The parent had her arms crossed, and the student with the valuable eyes looked like a puppy being scolded. I heard parts of their conversation.

_Teacher: How could you let this happen? I could expect this from Little Ivy, but from you?_

_Student: We didn't know the kid was a meta-human. How could we have predicted the turn of events?_

_Teacher: You are the example for the all apprentices; now you are a failure. Maybe I should just replace you with a more reliable android? It would serve much better than some lab experiment._

The "student" seemed to cringe at this and looked away from the man. Unfortunately, when she looked away from him, she looked directly at me. And I happened to be staring at her. She said something to the man and he quickly whipped around and started stalking over in my direction. He came over to my stasis pod and accessed some kind of control panel. I realized he was trying to put me back in suspended animation. I started to struggle the best that I could, banging with my arms and legs, trying to break out of the pod. I started to feel drowsy, and my breathing was slowing down by itself. I gave one final strike before I slipped once again into darkness.


End file.
